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Seven Pac-12 women's soccer alumnae named to USWNT World Cup roster

SAN FRANCISCO - The 23-member U.S. Women’s National Team, as announced yesterday by head coach Jill Ellis, will feature seven Pac-12 women’s soccer alumnae in the 2015 FIFA World Cup. UCLA and STANFORD both have two former players on the roster, while CALIFORNIA, USC and WASHINGTON have one apiece.

Hope Solo, a 2002 graduate of UW, leads the Pac-12 alumnae with her third World Cup appearance, as the goalkeeper played in the 2007 and 2011 contests. Four former Pac-12 student-athletes will be seeing their second World Cup appearance: defender Kelley O’Hara (Stanford, ’09), midfielder Lauren Holiday née Cheney (UCLA, ’09), forward Alex Morgan (Cal, ’10) and forward Amy Rodriguez (USC, ’08). Forwards Sydney Leroux (UCLA, ’11) and Christen Press (Stanford, ’10) will be making their first-career appearance in the World Cup.

The Pac-12’s seven former players on the roster are the second-most of any conference in the nation. The ACC has nine former players, while the Big Ten has three, the West Coast Conference has two and the SEC and Metro Atlantic Conference have one apiece.

The seven former student-athletes are still prominent in the Pac-12 women’s soccer record books. O’Hara still holds the single-season record in points, while Press owns the career record in points and assists. Press and Holiday are tied for second in career goals scored, and Holiday is also third all-time in career points. The seven players combined for eight NSCAA All-America accolades, three Soccer America Player of the Year honors, two NSCAA Player of the Year honors, and two MAC Hermann Awards. Solo, Holiday, O’Hara and Press all earned Pac-12 Player of the Year accolades, and Rodriguez, Holiday and Press earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in their first collegiate seasons. All seven earned at least two All-Pac-12 nods. Rodriguez, O’Hara, and Press were all members of NCAA champion teams in their tenure.

The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup runs from June 6-July 5 and will be the seventh time FIFA stages the event, as well as the first to include 24 nations, up from 16 that participated in the previous four editions. This summer, the USA will face Australia, Sweden and Nigeria in Group D at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The USA opens against Australia on June 8 at Winnipeg Stadium, followed by Sweden on June 12 in Winnipeg and Nigeria on June 16 at BC Place in Vancouver.